Lake Sylvia, Fort Lauderdale (MM 1064.5) to Santa Barbara Lake, Pompono Beach, FL (MM 1056.9)
Theme of the day: Just get somewhere, anywhere, other than Fort Lauderdale and Lake Sylvia! We have a little over 2 weeks to get north of Cape Hatteras so our insurance doesn’t stop covering us. We are crossing an invisible finish line…and arriving at a new starting line.
Norfolk or Bust!
Having finally fixed our last lingering gremlin by noon, we had a decision to make. Stay the night in Lake Sylvia and start our journey in the morning, or just GO.
Kevin and I looked at each other and, without much hesitation, said, “GO!” At this point, the Oceanvolt motors were either going to work or not. So far, they seemed to be behaving, and we were more than ready to get the hell out of Fort Lauderdale. We’d been here WAY too long, and the clock was ticking on our August 1 insurance deadline to get north of Cape Hatteras.
So, we dropped the tech who’d been helping us sort out the motorhead problem at the nearest dock (I promised we actually stopped the dinghy), waved goodbye, returned to Water Wings, fired up the motors, raised the anchor, and headed out of Lake Sylvia.
It’s About Damn Time!
First stop, FUEL! Sadly, we were going to need a whole lot of it over the next thousand miles or so. We headed to Lauderdale Marina’s Fuel Dock along the main ICW channel just outside Lake Sylvia. Having not docked in months, this was a slightly nerve-racking evolution. To (not) help, the wind was kindly pushing us off the dock making the approach much more difficult with lots of other boats coming and going that weren’t exactly making room for us (even when they easily could have). So, Florida ;). But we managed it, filled the tanks, and were on our way.
Once clear of the fuel dock, we had roughly two to three hours of good light to find an anchorage and get settled before sunset. The mission was simple: get somewhere, ANYWHERE, other than Fort Lauderdale!
Honestly, that first afternoon was a blur. Did I mention we didn’t realize we would be leaving today until about an hour ago? After everything we’d been through over the previous weeks, we had almost stopped believing this day would ever come. Then one last-minute fix, one final phone call to Finland, and suddenly we were moving! GO, GO, GO!
We’d spent weeks planning our route, researching trouble spots, and identifying contingencies, but actually putting that plan into motion felt completely surreal.
(Curious how we planned our ICW route? Check it out [HERE — link to planning section].)
The Start of Our Next Adventure
On this very unexpected Day 1, we passed beneath the Las Olas Boulevard Bridge, the same bridge we’d been staring at for months, and finally put Fort Lauderdale in our wake. We hadn’t exactly escaped the South Florida scene yet, but seeing something other than the same old view was incredibly refreshing. We were moving again, and that alone gave us a renewed sense of hope. Also, very refreshing.
This short stretch of the ICW to Pompono Beach doesn’t really feel like you’ve escaped the city just yet. It’s South Florida at some of its flashiest. Seriously, if the Bahamas are all about turquoise water and deserted beaches, this stretch of the ICW is all about playing “Guess What THAT Guy Does for a Living.” Waterfront estates get progressively more ridiculous, yachts seem to have yachts of their own, and just when you think you’ve seen the biggest house on the water… another monstrosity appears around the next bend.
We passed beneath our first four bridges, getting a little taste of what the next few days would bring. South & Central Florida’s ICW is basically bridge after bridge after bridge. With a mast on our boat, we’d have spent a LOT of time waiting for scheduled openings. Thankfully, being de-rigged meant we only needed openings for bridges with less than about 15 feet of clearance. Most of the time, we could just cruise right on through at our own pace.
And here’s an unexpected bonus of our somewhat ridiculous propulsion setup: Because we had to run the generator to keep the batteries charged for our electric motors (not ideal), we had enough additional power to run the A/C while underway (VERY ideal!).
We took turns at the helm while the other retreated inside to literally chill in the cool, dry air. A little luxury we certainly weren’t complaining about in the sweltering July heat!
As we approached Pompano Beach, the scenery began to soften a bit. The endless wall of downtown towers and extravagant waterfront estates gave way to residential neighborhoods, marinas, and occasional glimpses toward the ocean beyond the barrier islands. Still plenty ritzy, but the wealth felt a little more subdued.
Basically, you’re welcome here, but we’ll still judge the crap out of you. 🙂
After 2 hours and 15 minutes of motoring, with our motors, props, and 22 kW generator all behaving themselves (a first!), we arrived at a NEW anchorage!
New View Finally
According to our original plans, we should have been somewhere in New England by now. Instead, we were celebrating making it all the way…to Pompano Beach. But after the previous few weeks, Santa Barbara Lake, surrounded by quiet residential neighborhoods, felt like a breath of fresh air. Well, as fresh as anything can feel in 90-degree heat and 85% humidity.
Santa Barbara Lake had the feel of a quiet neighborhood cul-de-sac, only with boats instead of cars. Nothing particularly exciting, but that was totally fine with us. We were only staying the night, as we would at most of our stops along the ICW. We had just 13 days to get north of Cape Hatteras, and there would be NO dilly-dallying!
We had a celebratory drink on deck to celebrate getting some where new, then started prepping for the next day. Now that we could breathe again. It was time to review our our end game, where were our bailouts and what did weather have in store for us for tomorrow and the days to come. Today was just a baby step, but we were FINALLY on the move, and in the right direction!
Today was just a baby step, but we are on the move again…and in the right direction!
Norfolk, here we come… Next up Day 2!
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